Easy Science Experiments for Kids to Learn States of Matter and Chemical Properties

Many things at home are good source for simple and easy science experiments. No lab, equipment or science kit is required for these simple experiments for kids. It is not costly and can be relatively safe. You can conduct it yourself if you are homeschooling the kids. We just need to inject creativity how these resources can be turn into fun experiential learning lesson to teach kids about science.

Let kids learn to explore, observe, question and prove facts on science concept or theory with science experiments at home. Play some science tricks with them now with these simple experiments.

States of Matter – Solids, Liquids and Gases

Ice is a matter in solid state, water is a liquid and steam is a gas. Freeze the water to get ice and boil it to get steam.

Expand and Contract

Things expand when it gets hot and contract when cool down. A simple science experiment on expansion is to drop a dented ping pong ball into a pot of boiling water. Magically, the ping pong ball will regain its' shape again.Here is another easy science experiment to show things get smaller when cool down. Place the cap on a plastic bottle, but don't screw it right up yet. Give the plastic bottle a blasting with a hair dryer for about 20 seconds to warm up the air inside. Then screw the cap on really tight and wait. In a moment, the bottle will suddenly collapse.

Liquid Race

Get different type of liquid; washing detergent, water, syrup, oil, shampoo. Put a drop of each liquid on a tray using a dropper. Tilt the tray. Each liquid runs down at different speed because some liquids are runnier than others.

Water boils at 100 degree Celsius and freezes at 0 degree Celsius. However, water with other things dissolved in it boils at higher temperature and freezes at lower ones. Try this out...

Pick Ice Cube with Cotton

Lay cotton over the top of an ice cube. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of salt on it and wait for a minute. The ice will melt, then freezes again round the cotton. Simply lift the cotton and the ice will come with it.

The salt on the surface of the ice created a salt solution which has a lower freezing point than water, so the ice melted. Eventually, the water was able to freeze again. This time over the top of the cotton.

Chemical Properties and Reaction

Scientists have developed various indicators to find out if a chemical solution is acid or alkali. Red cabbage is a simple ingredient we can use at home to conduct simple experiment to determine if a solution is acid or alkali.

Acid or Alkali

Cut up some red cabbage; soak them in hot water for about five minutes. You should have a purple liquid. Strain this through a sieve into a glass. Dissolved a teaspoon of bicarb (an alkali) with water in a glass. Fill another glass with vinegar (acid). Pour some red cabbage juice into the glass of bicarb. The solution will turn blue indicate alkali. Now, pour some red cabbage into the glass of vinegar, the solution will turn red (acid).

Have fun testing out different chemical solution and see the changes in color.

Chemical Reaction

Mixing different chemicals produce reaction. Product derived from such reaction differs depending on chemical mixture used. Simple chemical experiments can be safe to conduct at home if you know what mixture to use.

Make Your Own Plastic

We know plastic is derived from oil. However, we can create something similar with a safer option here.

Add a quarter cup of vinegar to a cup of warm milk. The mixture will separate into a thick white material – plastic – and a more watery solution.

Produce Carbon Dioxide with Vinegar and Bicarb

Here is another easy science experiment which uses chemical reaction. The chemical reaction between vinegar and bicarb produces carbon dioxide.

Put two teaspoons of bicarb into a balloon. Pour a quarter cup of vinegar into a bottle. Fix the opening of the balloon onto the bottle. Lift the balloon and jiggle a little to let the bicarb fall into the bottle. The balloon will inflate as the reaction produces carbon dioxide.

Kids' science experiments are always fun. Through experiment, kids learn to explore and discover lots of things themselves. My son used magnet to test out things at home to determine if it is magnetic. He had such fun time discovering magnetic and non-magnetic things. Through the process, he also learned how magnetic is used in appliances.